Last of the Superheroes
by AspiringWriterGirl
Summary: "Twenty years ago, the Reach were sent back. Thirteen years ago, I became a father for a second time. Eleven years ago, my wife disappeared. Five years ago, we lost the Justice League of America. Now, the Justice Squad have started to train. Some dates you can never forget, but as long as me and my family are still fighting, there is nothing that can stop us" - Nightwing
1. Chapter 1 - Rosemary Grayson

Disclaimer: I do not own the existing characters that we know and love of Young Justice, although I do take ownership over the new characters i.e. The majority of the Team's children (Wow, that was long-winded!)

Big thank you to any writers who have given me criticism on my characters, and also a bigger thank you to LynnnSmith – my amazing beta who has been with me from the very beginning of the story!

 **Chapter 01** \- Rosemary Grayson

I saw the skies turn a black as bleak as death. Louisiana was not turning into a happy vacation destination that I thought it would be. I was unable to do anything but watch as the heroes of the Justice Team (my father's generation of superheroes) were throwing themselves into the battle.

The Justice Team had become the current team of superheroes ever since the members of the Justice League were brutally attacked and overthrown by this 'ultimate supervillain', who left them in states where they could no longer fight as members of the Justice League of America. Some had lost their superpowers, others had lost their memories, or even their motor skills in order to function, one or two died… Zatanna was the only one to protect herself – but she had been knocked out early on in the battle and was unable to protect her friends. The devastation of the event left in America in a downwards spiral, so my father's generation of superheroes stepped up and became the Justice Team of America.

But something was about to test their strengths and abilities in Louisiana, and mine too. Looking out the window, the clouds outside the building began to drift in circles, signalling a brewing maelstrom.

"Wait! Don't go!" I called out, grabbing hold of the sleeve of my den mother's jacket when I saw that she too was going to leave. Just like the others.

My den mother was called Olivia Queen – or as she was more commonly known as to everyone else, Green Canary. It was all in homage to her parentage. Green Arrow and Black Canary. Olivia had cropped dirty blonde hair that suited her more mature age. She was kind and appreciative of her position as den mother to Max, Finn, my father's new protégé, Ryan, and me, but it was clear that part of her longed to be on the battle field, fighting alongside the members of the Justice Team in her parents' place.

"Mar- Rosemary, let go of me," Olivia pleaded in a low tone, trying to pull away from me.

"But what about me? And Max?" I desperately searched my brain for a reason to make my den mother stay.

Olivia pulled away, straightening out her jacket and turning towards the doors. "Do not leave this building Rosemary, I mean it."

I opened my mouth to protest, but it was hopeless – Green Canary had already gone.

Turning my attention to what was going on outside the window to my left, I could see a large circle of clouds concentrated above the penitentiary. This wasn't any old penitentiary – this was the Belle Reve Penitentiary.

I had once overheard Dad discussing some of the inhabitants of it, but all conversations ceased when he and the other members of the Justice Team realised that I was hiding behind the ajar door. They wouldn't have known if it hadn't have been for Miss Martian using her telepathy to read thoughts.

Just as it had done back then, my mind was now racing with thoughts about what would happen if all the inhabitants were to escape… At the sheer imagination of my thoughts, my heart raced ahead of me, causing me to back away into a corner, dropping to the cold marble floor and cradling my knees. The fear and panic was so real and fresh in my mind that I forced my eyes shut in an attempt to block it out.

"It won't happen again, it's not happening and it's not going to happen…" I repeated again and again, chanting to myself. The past, present and future phrases.

"Mar'i?"

At the sound of my real name, I opened my eyes slowly – it was my Tamaranean name and not many people knew it. As my eyes began to focus, I found my younger brother by two years looking down at me.

Today, Max had his dark brown hair styled in a crazy spiked mess that matched his energetic and crazy personality.

Max and I were the children of two superheroes and had grown up in a large house called Grayson Manor that was located just outside of Gotham City. There, we lived with our father, Richard Grayson – or as everyone else knew him as, Nightwing. But it was just the three of us, and it had been that way for nearly a decade now.

Ever since our mother, Koriand'r, who went by the hero name of Starfire – left for Tamaran to help calm some political issues that were going on. She never returned… According to the Tamarans, she never made it to the planet. To me, something didn't add up, but Dad didn't want me investigating or upsetting the Tamarans as they apparently had enough going on.

"Mar'i – what's going on out there?" Max walked slowly towards the window and peered out at the Penitentiary where he could make out some of the superheroes clashing with the cloud circle up in the sky.

"No!" he shouted out unexpectedly.

"What is it, Max?" I pushed off the wall and leapt up onto my feet to stand beside my brother. "It looks really bad out there…"

"We should help them," Max replied, smiling at me with a look on his face that said I would have to break the rules.

And I couldn't resist that opportunity- the opportunity to rebel.

Max continued to fight his case. "You know, even though Dad and the others don't think we should show everyone, we still have abilities that can help us to fight alongside them. We can be just like him, and Aqualad, and the old Kid Flash by starting our own team. I have my fireballs, and you have both flight and the starbolts- so with my knowledge and your powers, we could make a great team if we work together."

"Oh, but, Max… I wouldn't want to get you into trouble- I don't mind getting into trouble, but it would be dangerous. Firstly, Dad doesn't want the public to know about the abilities of the Justice Team's children. Let alone the fact that the superheroes have children. Secondly, Dad said we should stay here, and third – even though it's the same as the second, so did Green Canary. So…" I began to trail off, wondering whether I should just ignore Dad and Olivia, or to stay with Max and keep him safe.

Max raised one eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to be the rebellious one, Mar'i?"

"Well, I am! But not when it concerns you! I'd rather observe this battle with you than…" As I continued to defend myself over how different the circumstances were between this and sneaking out after curfews, I didn't actually notice that he had left the building. "Max! Come back here right now!"

With my boots clicking rapidly on the floor in a near double time, I sprinted out the door. With every step I took I readied myself for the eventuality of killing my brother if we survived the next few hours – that's if Dad's lectures didn't do that first.

Outside, the temperature had dropped a fair amount. I shivered as the wind swept the freshly fallen leaves across the ground and up into the darkened skies. They whirled around me like a tornado, making me break out in a run again.

 _The baddies that were breaking out the residents of the penitentiary must be using the electricity formed from the maelstrom to cause a power outage in the Penitentiary, thus breaking out the prisoners… but surely they'll have a backup generator at the Belle Reve that would kick in, right?_

It was obvious that I was thinking three steps behind my brother as I tried to figure out the link between The Light and the Penitentiary. Max was nowhere to be seen; he had certainly inherited our father's agility and quick speed meaning he was probably much further ahead than I could have imagined.

Generally speaking, my father and the other members of the Justice Team had decided to try and keep their children out of the limelight in the case that the Light would find out about us and our abilities. I think it was really in case they tried to kill us. In a way, it was really for our own safety. The children weren't supposed to know anything about the Light, so when I asked, I was told not to worry and not to ask again. Though I knew it was bad.

"Max!" I called out when I didn't see him anywhere. "Where are you?"

Even though our dad had told us never to show our powers in public, I felt responsible for my brother- ever since our mother disappeared. So I had to find him. Instigating the floating feeling in my chest, I lifted myself up into the air.

 _Yeah, I can fly… and shoot violet coloured starbolts from my hands. Just your normal teen._

Rising just above the tree line in the hope that I would not to draw too much attention to myself, I tried to find my brother. Admittedly, flying was the most effective method I could think of to find my brother. Whilst I might say that with all the other superheroes flying around town, what difference would one more flying person make? It was just typical of him to run off with very little thought over the consequences.

As I was gliding through the air, something shot out and nicked my arm, tearing through the material of my long sleeved purple top. Completely caught off guard, I fell through the air and struggled to make a safe landing. Someone caught a hold of my arm just because I fell to the ground.

"Nice to see you, Rosie…"

I turned to look at who it was.

"Ryan? What are you doing here?" I asked my father's new protégé in the most fluttered manner, frowning at the playing card shaped piece of metal that had a spec or two of my blood on it. "What did you do that for?"

"Because you know that your father would not want for you to go flying around like it was nothing… Let alone hear that you did not listen to him when he told you not to leave. There is a reason he chooses not to let you train with anyone as their protégé." Ryan frowned back at me and then slowly turned it into a cute smirk. "Please tell me that you were not going to try and help the Justice League and Team, were you?"

I nodded.

"That is a stupid idea, but I think I should join you – it will certainly be a laugh to watch Nightwing lecture you afterwards…"

Even though he annoyed me, Ryan was one of those people that was attractive, well I thought he was cute, but he had an arrogance to him that I didn't like. He had this swishy blonde hair that looked like it took hours to perfect – I, on the other hand, didn't do much with my hair most mornings. His hazel eyes were like the leaves on an oak tree in summer.

"So, are we going, or are you just going to stand there and admire my appearance even more?" Ryan asked, laughing at me.

Flustered, I gently punched him in the arm before running towards the penitentiary, where I knew Max was heading. A flash of lightning made me flinch and stop, only for Ryan to run into me.

"Not scared of a little lightning, are you?" he asked, stifling a little laughter.

"I- I am not!" I snapped slowly, carrying on down the pathway out of the park that we had been running through.

To the left, was the road that led up to the Belle Reve Penitentiary, where the criminals were apparently kept. Blocking our way was a row of police cars and armoured vehicles. A SWAT team was facing the Penitentiary with their guns at the ready – not that they would stand a chance if a magnetically endowed villain was being harboured in the penitentiary.

"Now kids, I think you better go back home right away…" an older man called out to us with his hand stretched out in front of him, but when we didn't move, he frowned at us. "I may not be Police Commissioner of Louisiana, but I know you two kids… This is no place for children."

"Wait! You're Police Commissioner Gordon?" I asked in awe and confusion, walking closer to the blockage, eager to still get to the penitentiary. I knew that it must have been a serious situation if a commissioner from Gotham City was being brought in. Which to me, meant the Police Commissioner of Gotham City had very little authority in Louisiana.

"Stay there kid-" Police Commissioner Gordon stopped in his tracks when a huge tremor rippled across the ground.

"What, is that?" I murmured, looking over the cars at something that was breaking up the ground and heading straight towards us.

"Ready!" Commissioner Gordon stammered. "On my mark!"

"Wait – that's a superhero!" I squealed, frozen to the spot as the hero's lifeless body came to a stop. "Superboy!"

The superhero was now lying at the end of the large crevasse that he had been dug out of the road – like someone who had an infinite amount of strength had thrown Superboy along the road.

Whilst no one else moved, I squeezed myself past the police cars and rushed to Superboy's side.

"Superboy?" I asked, shaking the unconscious man's body. "Wake up!"

His mouth quivered and his eyes slowly opened. At first, he flinched as he found me looking down at him.

"You shouldn't be here," he whispered slowly. "Go back to the Headquarters now…" Superboy got up to his feet, but his legs trembled a little with exhaustion from such a long and hard battle. "Let's get back to business." He took one step and dropped to the floor.

"You can't!" I tried to help him up, but he didn't seem to want my help. "What's going on in there?"

One giant leap and Superboy was gone, before he had even given me an answer.

 _Urgh- why can't people tell me what's going on and stop leaving me in the dark?_ _I wish they would stop treating me like a baby._

"Okay missy, that's enough now. Officer Reeves, take this child to safety now!" the Police Commissioner yelled, struggling to get around the cars that were supposed to be a blockade.

Before the police officer named Reeves could lay one finger on me, I flew up into the air and soared towards the Penitentiary in the hope of finding answers and leaving Ryan behind.

I reached the main door and hammered my fist against it. "Open up!"

Nothing. Instead of staying by the door, I started to walk around the large stone building in an attempt to find a way in. I did find a hidden electrical panel, but I was not like my brother – computers and technology were not my strong point. Rather than risk making everyone worse or giving myself an electric shock, I closed the lid of the electrical panel,

As I searched for a way in, I could hear screams, sonic screeches, and the rumble of thunder. Part of me was scared of what I might discover, but the other was keen to learn the truth and be at the centre of the action.

The only option was to try and get in from above. Kick off from the floor and rose into the air, turning my head to look in all directions for an entrance.

"Oh – a flying child – just the perfect accompaniment to the acrobatic boy!" a woman squealed from the roof that I was floating above. "Breaking out the others has been just too easy! Arkham could never hold me! Now to free the Injustice League!"

As I turned to look at the woman, I was grabbed by a thick vine that was being controlled by the woman. It knotted itself around my waist and constricted my hands to my sides.

"Mar'i!" I heard Max call out.

The woman who had captured me had pale skin with a green tint and dark green veins all over her body. She grinned maniacally as she drew me closer. "Oh- is this your big sister?" she asked, lifting an entrapped Max nearer.

"Max – what are you doing? I'm supposed to be looking out for you!" I squealed, writhing in the vine snare.

He too struggled in the vine that was around him. "Just the same as you! Trying to get some answers… but Poison Ivy caught me, and now she's- now she's got you too."

 _Putting it bluntly there, little bro._

Poison Ivy swung the vines around and around. "Come on heroes- come and claim your friends!" It was like she wanted to be caught, but the nearby superheroes were already locked in battles with other villains.

With all the spinning, I was beginning to feel sick to the stomach. In amongst all of the commotion, I screamed out in agitation. "Nightwing!" An echo of my scream rippled around us.

"What's this?" Poison Ivy asked. "Why call out to Nightwing, sweet child?" Her hand cupped my chin and I could feel her sharpened nails digging into my cheeks. "Oh- could it be? No… Of all the heroes to ask for help from, and you choose Nightwing…" My captor continued to ramble about my choice, and I regretted it already. "Nightwing!" she called out again and again, like she was enticing him. "Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing!"

Max and I screamed after being thrown about from side to side like a white flag signalling a surrender.

"Nightwing – the roof!" my dad's friend, Zatanna shouted out to him. "Tuc eht eniv!" Her white gloved hands moved swiftly towards me and Max.

The vine around my brother was sliced by a magic spell and he dropped to the floor with a thump.

"Max – run!" I screamed, pulling my arm in the hope of freeing it from the vine. "Run!"

"No fair…" Poison Ivy murmured, reaching out for my brother, but he lunged aside.

Max's foot slipped and he missed the edge of the roof. He fell back over the roof with his arms flailing in concentric circles. His scream was short and stopped instantly. Up leapt Ryan back onto the roof wearing a black and white ensemble with Max safely in his hold.

At that moment, my right hand just about managed to squeeze itself from the vine. With a quick sweep of my hand, I threw a starbolt at Poison Ivy, but it narrowly missed her. The accuracy of my starbolts was not the best it could be. She fell back, pulling me along with her.

"Let her go, Poison Ivy!" Nightwing was standing on the roof in a fighting stance as he prepared himself to attack Poison Ivy. He threw something through the air so quickly that I didn't even have time to register what it was.

Slash!

The vine snapped and I dropped to the roof with a hard thud, but I wasn't free yet. Poison Ivy grabbed my shoulder and dragged me away from Nightwing. Her sharp nails dug into my shoulder, making me wince in pain.

"Nuh-uh-uh…" she said, waggling her finger at my father. "Me and girly here have a lot of catching up to do."

"Not if I can help it!" I flicked my hand back and shot a violet coloured starbolt directly into her face.

Poison Ivy screamed out in pain and clutching her face as the energy of my starbolt burnt her face.

I staggered forwards, away from Poison Ivy and towards my father. "Da-"

"Mar'i – you need to get out of here now. Go back to the headquarters and wait for me there. Take your brother with you." He gently pushed me away, but over his shoulder, I saw a tall and skinny man throw an ice shard towards us.

A masked woman carrying a sleek bow knocked into him, and then pulled him away.

"Look out!" I shouted, firing another starbolt at the ice, melting it in its tracks.

A large explosion suddenly occurred and I was thrown from the rooftop. As I was trying to fly out of the way of the flying stones and debris, my eyes began to sting from the burning embers. Without even thinking, I rubbed my eyes and flew about aimlessly.

There was a loud crash as a large stone brick struck me in the back, trapping me both physically and unconsciously.

When I came around, I was in the infirmary of the Justice Headquarters. Lying on a small bed with a needle embedded in my arm. The sound of dripping liquid and the machines was somewhat peaceful to hear. My back ached and I felt a gentle pounding in my head.

"Mar'i?" Max stood up beside me, before rushing over to the door. "Dad- Dad, she's awake!" he called out, hovering in the doorway.

Our father, Dick Grayson, strode into the room and closed the door, leaving Max outside. He looked at in my direction from behind the dark shades he was always wearing. "I'm glad you're awake…" There was an excruciatingly long silence, where he looked deep in thought as his gaze was focused on the machines to the side of the room. "You've certainly grown up a lot over the last ten years…"

 _Oh no, pep talk time. Pep talks always started this way._

"And I know you only want answers for yourself- and that's just the curiosity you inherit from me… That I know. But what happened at the penitentiary was dangerous. You were badly hurt, Mar'i, and you didn't listen to what I said. For all we know, you could have died… I told you to stay here in the headquarters – as did Green Canary, and when-"

"But I was going out after Max! He left the headquarters and I went to stop him!" I moaned, sitting up slowly with an elbow propping myself up. "And you always used to say that we had to keep each other safe, and that when you were our age, you were so desperate to prove yourself to Batman, and that-"

I felt bad mentioning Batman after the supervillain Dad refused to name left Batman unable to continue the hero life, but it was to help my father see my side.

Dad grabbed hold of my hand. "Mar'i – it's not the same… I had-"

"But it is!" I protested.

"Don't argue with me, Mar'i!" Dad shouted. "I'm your father, and that means that I have to keep yours and Max's wellbeing at the heart of all of my decisions… What do you expect me to do when I know that danger looms?"

"Let us help!" I said aggressively. "You, and Aqualad, and the original Kid Flash all wanted to prove that you were capable of defeating the bad guys and saving the city, so why can't you give me, and Max, that opportunity?"

"You share your mother's passion in an argument." Dad smiled as if he was remembering times with Mum. "Maybe you have a point. I'm sure that Fin'abarra would like to join you… I even think Ryan might be ready to lead a team of his own too."

"Yes! Please? I mean, we've already got a den mother, and maybe we could get someone to train us, or someone to co-ordinate the missions that we could handle… It's the least we can do when it's my fault that all the criminals escaped…"

Dad shook his head. "It's not your fault, but it wasn't your smartest idea either. Them breaking out was nothing to do with that. There was a group of villains who banded together to break them out… Just give me some time to think about it, and talk to the Justice Team about it. I'm sure Miss Martian, Aqualad and the others will surely have something to say about it. You have to promise me that you will honour their decisions. I'm sure that they'll be able to help give me a definitive answer."

"Promise, and if they agree, we can get a whole alphabet of designations- just like you and Superboy, and Zatanna, right?" I smiled weakly, feeling a twinge in my side, but trying not to let it show.

"Don't get too excited, nothing's been decided. Just let me talk to the others first, okay? Now get some rest- I'll check in on you later, as will Olivia."

"Okay, and Dad?" I waited for him to turn around and utter an acknowledgement. "Don't forget that you owe me."

"Owe you? Mar'i- what do I owe you for now?"

I looked down at my hands. "On the rooftop, I stopped you from being speared by ice. You know, with my starbolts."

"Yeah, I know." Dad came back to my side and kissed my forehead. "Thanks Mar'i… But don't think that that means the possibility of a new Team is definitely going to form – a decision will be made though, don't worry. You'll be the first to know…"

As Dad opened the door, he was met with an enthusiastic Max who had clearly been listening in exclaimed, "But Dad- it can't be called the Team, because you are the Justice Team- instead, we, we- we can be the Justice Squad! That sounds so cool!"

 _The Justice Squad – I like the sound of that…_

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = It's a whole new storyline going on here and I cannot wait to see what you think of this opening chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Max Grayson

Disclaimer: I do not own the existing characters that we know and love of Young Justice, although I do take ownership over the new characters i.e. The majority of the Team's children

Big thank you to my beta, LynnnSmith – an amazing beta who has been with me from the very beginning of the story!

 **Chapter 02** – Max Grayson

My sister had been in the infirmary at the Justice Headquarters for days – she hadn't gotten much better after the Belle Reve Penitentiary event. I couldn't help but feel a little bit responsible for what had happened to Mar'i; if I hadn't gone to investigate what was going on, she would be a hundred percent okay. Yet, if we had both been informed over what was going on, then there wouldn't be a need to investigate.

I wondered what was going to happen to me, Mar'i, Ryan and Finn – the next generation of Justice Heroes – or as my sister called us, the Justice Squad.

Obviously Ryan was going to love the idea of a new team, because it would give him the opportunity to step up and become a leader, as opposed to being constantly ordered about by Dad. I think without his biological father in his life, Ryan looked up to my dad, so if becoming the leader of the new squad put him in my father's good books – Ryan would be all for it.

Part of me wasn't sure about what Finn would have to say. He was a little older than Mar'i and he was like a big brother to us. Fin'abarra was his Atlantean name and as an Atlantean, he primarily lived in Atlantis, but loved to explore and learn more about the 'beauty' of Earth that me and Mar'i showed him. He called things amazing and beautiful – I just saw them as being normal. Ever since he was a child, Finn learnt from Queen Mera about hydrokinesis and sorcery, of which only made him more eager to prove that he was capable of fighting alongside his dad, Kaldur – Aqualad.

I knew that a decision was coming to hand when the members of the Justice Team came to the Headquarters. Aqualad, Miss Martian, Beast Boy, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Superboy and Static – Blue Beetle and Kid Flash arrived later, but it was clear something was bothering them.

My dad led them into the conference room, but shut the door in my face.

Instantly, I ran up the stairs to the side of the conference room where I was sure there was an air vent. I thought that if I could crawl into it, I could listen into the conversation that was about to take place. But there was no way I could take off the screws that the air vent by hand… Guess I must have left my screwdriver somewhere… Damn…

So I was going to have use a little fire power to wear it down. The vent grate was metal, but I would easily be able to melt it.

Looking down at my hand, I clenched it shut tightly. As my hand turned a little red, I opened it out and saw the little ball of flame in my palm. Every time I saw it, it reminded me just how cool it was to have this ability.

Melting down the metal at the corners, I was able to pull it off the wall and put it down gently to one side. It was tight inside, but just enough for me to move comfortably inside the ventilation shaft. The metal was cold to the touch, but not enough to make it stop. I had to know what was going on in the conference room. I had to know what the future held for us all.

"But Nightwing – are you sure that you would be okay if Mar'i was hurt badly?" I heard Miss Martian ask in the distance, so I knew I was heading in the right direction.

"I understand exactly where you are coming from, M'gaan, but you remember how things were when we were their age… We couldn't wait to prove ourselves to the Justice League, so maybe we should give them the same opportunity we had?" Dad replied, totally fighting our corner. "And Mar'i is strong, just like her mother…"

Bumblebee spoke up, "Nightwing, we miss her too. Starfire was one of us, and now Mar'i has the opportunity to save the world – just like we did. I think that Mar'i would be an asset to a new team, but Max… To me, he's a little too young, don't you think?"

YOUNG! Who are they calling _young?_ Dad was the same age as me when he first started training with Batman. And that was like being at the front line of a war.

I could see the narrow slits of light through a meshed grate that I could use to look down on the heroes as they spoke. Peering through the gaps, I could see a round table where the superheroes were seated. There, I listened in.

Aqualad looked over at Nightwing. "Have you- have you heard from Artemis- or Tigress as she goes by now…?"

Nightwing shook his head, looking down at the ground. "I worry we may have lost her. She was there at the penitentiary…"

Batgirl gasped in shock and exclaimed, "Nightwing… You can't be serious. Art- Tigress, she wouldn't do that to us, she's not like her family were. And she's got Willow to think of."

Nightwing looked away. "It's difficult, Batgirl. After Robin and WonderGirl retired from the Justice Team to start a family, Tigress went her own way. She never really got over Wally's death. Especially when she had a baby to think about. Tigress pushed away both me and Kaldur so we just grew apart – it wasn't easy when I later found out a sensitive issue. It's something that I never saw coming… Tigress helped to break out Icicle Junior after he was captured and put in Belle Reve. She was there helping Poison Ivy and the others. I'm worried about Tigress, and I want to offer her our help, but she doesn't want it – she has made her decision."

Miss Martian wiped her eye. "Nightwing- part of me can't believe what you're saying. You don't really mean that she's- she's gone bad? It's just not like her." She looked around the room at the others. "What about Willow? How is she doing?"

Nightwing pulled out a tablet and passed it across to Miss Martian, but I couldn't see what was on the screen so I leant closer, pushing myself directly over the metal grating. With my typical unlucky side, I heard the creaking of metal and when I went to move away, the grate gave way.

I fell through the air, screaming as I plummeted.

"Max!" Miss Martian called out, and with her telepathic abilities, she stopped me from colliding directly with the table.

Dad was not happy at all. "Max! I told you to wait with Mar'i- leave us now!"

I was dropped down onto the table, which I quickly jumped off of, noticing that Ryan was standing in the corner of the room, so I stopped abruptly. "But what about Ryan? He's not on the Justice Team so why should he get to listen in?"

"Jester is sitting in because he is involved – especially if he would be the new leader. Green Canary agreed with me that he would make a good leader of this new team, and she also told me that you were not yet ready for membership of the new team. Regardless of what you say about me and you being the same age, things have changed and the situations are totally different." Dad pushed me towards the door adding, "We're going to take a vote – once it's decided, you and Mar'i will be the first to know. Miss Martian will be listening to your every move in this place, so there will be no exceptions, okay?"

"But-" I went to protest.

"No. Off you go, your sister needs your presence." Dad shut the door hard, knocking it into my back.

I growled in frustration. It wasn't fair – I was just as good as Ryan, at least I had an ability. Stamping my feet hard on the ground, I went to the infirmary.

"Max, you came to visit me!" Mar'i squealed in excitement. "Come here, and give your big sister a hug…"

I wasn't normally one for hugs, but with Mar'i, I could make an exception. After embracing, I couldn't hide the glum expression on my face. "Don't ask me what's wrong…"

"You know I'm going to- come on Max."

"It's just that, well, they're making a decision on whether we can be heroes like our parents and the Justice League. I was listening in, but then I slipped and was discovered. Miss Martian stopped me from getting hurt, and there I was thinking that they had forgotten about me listening in… They're about to make a decision right now."

"Well at least if it's an odd number, there won't be a stalemate," Mar'i said, smiling. "It'll be okay, Max."

"Yeah, but- Dad and Olivia said that I'm too young to be on the team. It's not fair!"

"Come on Max – you _are_ only thirteen. Maybe you can help us from the Headquarters. Coordinate our strategies and hack the computers."

"Well I guess that idea would work, because I get to prove to everyone that I have a superior skillset to _Ryan_ – I can't believe that Dad thinks Ryan would make a better leader than me…"

"Come on Max- you know that Dad doesn't mean it like that. Out of all of us, Ryan has the most experience as Dad's protégé. He's been a hero longer than you, me or even Finn."

"You don't understand." I walked out and immediately wandered around the headquarters and sat outside the conference room again, hoping that they would have decided already.

Blue Beetle and Kid Flash left first, engrossed in a deep conversation. They looked at me and smiled weakly before making a somewhat swift exit. I wondered whether they were co-parenting or something, but I didn't think about it too much.

The others left one by one, until it was just Miss Martian and Dad in the conference room. Ryan left and smirked at me in a lop-sided manner – he annoyed me so much that I didn't know how I would cope being in a team led by him.

"Firewing – reporting for duty!" I said enthusiastically, boldly throwing the door back open, and then I felt awkward on seeing the two adults locked in a tight embrace.

"Firewing- why Firewing, Max?" Dad let Miss Martian go and turned towards me with a hand resting on her shoulder. "Seems you've already thought about your hero name already. I suppose you want to know the decision?"

"Yeah!" I rushed towards their sides, standing between them. "Come on!"

"A decision has been made. It was even and all relied on Miss Martian to make the deciding vote. She had her conditions regarding the new squad of which I will make sure they are adhered to. Green Canary suggested that she and Angel-"

"You mean the son of Hawkman and Hawkwoman, right?" I asked eagerly.

"Yes, that's Angel – he will overlook the Justice Squad in the early stages of development. I pushed the idea of Ryan leading the group on missions with Finn and Mar'i as active members. You will assist Angel until they both believe that you are ready to join the team – provided everything else is satisfactory." Dad ruffled my hair, smiling. "What do you think?"

I nodded slowly. "For the time being, it's okay… but we need to go and see Willow. She always had such a strong sense of good and bad, so she'd want to fight the bad guys."

"Willow? You remember her, huh?" Dad smiled slightly. "Maybe you and me could go see how she's doing?"

Dad and I waited outside the secondary school where Willow went to; it felt really weird just waiting in the car by the school, because we weren't related to anyone there. I wondered whether Willow would come out right away, or if she had an additional class after school. Dad was adamant that we waited for her – part of me thought that he was worried about Willow, because when she was a baby, he was there to help Artemis look after her. It was such a strong bond that they had, even though they weren't related. She saw him as an uncle figure.

"There she is!" I quietly exclaimed, smiling a little.

"Wait a minute – you don't want to startle her…"

She walked out the main entrance and pulled up the hood of her sweatshirt as the rain began to fall. There was a moment where she stopped to reposition the headphones in her ears before starting on her way home.

Out of nowhere, a black van sped around the corner at such an alarming rate that I may have flinched as it shot past our car. In a moment that was just too quick, two people who were clothed in dark material darted out of the car, and each grabbed one of Willow's arms. She pulled away a little, by then, I was already out the car.

"Hey!" I shouted.

Willow tried to yank her arms from their grip, but they completely overpowered her and stuffed her into the back of the van.

Dad and I ran towards the van where I latched onto the door handle, tugging at it helplessly, but it started to drive off. I tripped and fell onto the pavement.

"No!" I shouted, thumping the pavement with my fist.

"It's okay Max. Don't worry about it." Dad helped me up to my feet and patted me on the back. "Whilst you were trying to open the door, I put a tracker on the van. Always think on your feet. We'll head back to the headquarters and set up a rescue mission to get Willow back. Ryan, Finn and Mar'i will bring her back."

 _Our first mission: a rescue mission to get Willow back._

I glanced at the computer screen and looked at the map on the screen. "Okay team, the tracker has come to a stop at an old warehouse. I'm patching the co-ordinates through to you and your transport is ready. Ryan – it's over to you, there is already a driver so you don't need to worry…"

Ryan's voice could be heard in the earpiece of the headset on, "Oh come on Max- we're on a mission, so you can call me Jester… Is this vehicle driveable?"

"It's got a navigation system, Jester. I'm not the computer boy called Firewing for nothing. I'm the one driving it."

"Right, whatever. Me, Fin and Nightstar are going now – check in again later…"

Nightstar? Mar'i – Nightstar. It was weird to hear my sister's hero name more and more recently, because I had this obsession with being called Firewing after it was the last parts of my parent's superhero names, but when Mar'i took the first parts, I felt exhilarated. Nightstar and Firewing.

"Alright Squad, let's get Willow out of there…" I mumbled, darting between three computer screens in one of those spinning office chairs. "Let's get some security feed up. Hacking skills to the max." I couldn't help but laugh at my own joke, especially as I was the only one there.

"Firewing- we're going in now…" Jester said in my ear with a sharp tongue. "I'll report back in in a second."

I listened and waited – the security feed was up and everything was empty. As I scanned through the various angles, I couldn't see a thing out of the ordinary. Not even any sign of Willow, which could be out of the ordinary…

"Firewing! Call for backup!" Nightstar's voice rang out in my ear.

I threw of my headset and dropped it on the table. "Oh no… No, no, no!" I shouted, staggering out the control room and into the hanger deck where the remaining three vehicles were parked. Taking one of the keys of the rack, I leapt inside and plugged in the co-ordinates to the abandoned warehouse I had sent the others to. The auto-driver mode was amazing – I felt like I was driving without holding onto a steering wheel.

The vehicle came to an abrupt stop beside the one that Ryan had not even attempted to conceal it from any people passing by. I looked at my watch and noted the time – let's just say it was late and Angel was not going to be happy that I had ditched responsibilities at the headquarters.

I climbed the fire escape stairs and onto the roof. There was a gentle breeze that wasn't generated by the wind, so I turned my attention to my way in because that air must be coming from inside. I dropped down an air-conditioning unit, feeling the steel rub on the black material of my clothes. There was a loud thump as I slammed down onto the bottom of the steel tunnel. I knew someone must have heard that, so I didn't have much time to find the others. Looking back at my watch, I pulled it open like a book to reveal a map of the building, and then the additional tunnels that I was in.

I crawled along the tunnel with the assistance of the maps on my watch, using my intellect to find out where they might be holding Willow and the Justice Squad. I put myself in a villain's shoes, and felt like I would keep Willow separate from the others so that it would be harder to rescue everyone, but that doesn't mean that the villains would be that. Come on, I'm an intelligent kid – I'm genuinely the brains behind this whole situation.

"We'll be back soon, kid…" a deep and husky voice said; it echoed through the tunnel so I knew I was close to at least one of my captured friends.

I just hoped it was Willow so thatI could be the one to get the credit for saving her. My pace quickened as I carried on, but when I wasn't sure where to go, I quietly said her name in a low whisper.

"Willow…"

"Hello?"

Around the corner to the right, I found myself facing a large spinning fan which was blowing my hair back off my face. Through the propelling fan, I could make out a room below where Willow was tied to a wooden chair facing away from me

"Willow…"

"Who said that?" Willow replied timidly, making me believe that there was no one else in the room with her. "I heard you that time, who's there?"

"I'm Firewing, and I'm here to rescue you." I pressed my black mask over my eyes even though I was still wearing my own clothes as opposed to a hero suit.

A gasp passed her lips, "Did Jester send you?" There was this sense of familiarity with the name 'Jester' in her voice, something that got at me, I felt a little green.

"Kind of… Can you shuffle your chair over this way?"

Willow nodded slowly before rocking from side to side making the chair grind along the gravel floor. The grinding sound made me clench my jaw. She spun around and looked up at the fan. "Who are you?" Her dark green eyes looked up at me through the metal. "I feel, I feel like I know you…"

"I'm Firewing- but let's get you out of here first," I said, brimming with confidence. "If you can use one of my birdarangs to cut the ropes around your wrists, then perhaps we can find something to stop the fan and you can crawl out the way I came in…"

It seemed like a ludicrous idea, but it was one that might just work, but it all depended on the timing of my birdarangs. I only had three of them so I had to get it right.

The first one cracked against the side of the tunnel just on the outermost part of the fan.

"It's okay, Firewing…" Willow said, smiling at me. "You can do it

Her saying that was enough to spur me on.

"Yes Wills."

But my second throw got caught by the fan and it snapped in two – one piece shot back towards me and the other through to the room.

Then I heard the clinking, a metallic sound that was like the sharpest of fingernails tap-tapping on the tunnel. I was doomed. They were about to catch me too and I was trapped like a little mouse. Something shot through the air and I felt a sharp prick to my neck.

My hand shot up to the site of pain where I retrieved a small dart. Suddenly, I felt woozy and sleepy- my head started spinning so quickly that I slumped back in the tunnel.

Out cold.

The rescuer of the first rescue group now needed rescuing himself…

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = So we've met Mar'i, Max, Ryan and Willow in the flesh, but let's not forget Finn. In the next chapter, how are they going to get out of the warehouse alive? Well, I think Willow might just have the answer…**


	3. Chapter 3 - Willow West

Disclaimer: I do not own the existing characters that we know and love of Young Justice, although I do take ownership over the new characters i.e. The majority of the Team's children (although the name of Nightwing's daughter is technically canon I guess)

Big thank you to my beta, LynnnSmith – an amazing beta who has been with me from the very beginning of the story!

 **Chapter 03** – Willow West

The boy who called himself Firewing had now been captured. Captured by something that looked like a metallic spider contraption had trapped him with electrical cables it had hidden within its body.

And I could do nothing but sit back and watch as he was dragged away deeper into the vent shaft.

"Firewing?" I called out, trying not to be too loud, but knowing I was loud enough to be heard.

A thickly built man with a boxing like outfit thundered into the room that I was being held at. He glowered at me from behind a mask, booming, "Who's Firewing, pretty girl? Is he your new boyfriend? Because if he is, then I'll be really sad…"

This brute was apparently called Uppercut – I had heard his boss say his name once or twice, but I just disliked everything about him. The fact that his voice sounded just like a child had been trapped in an adult's body. The husky voice of a naïve child. And when he called me pretty girl – it just irked me. Not to mention Uppercut had the creepiest look on his face when he said it, one that made me immediately think 'please get away from me.'

I flicked my head awkwardly, feeling my red long hair slipping down my shoulder.

"Oh I like your hair too… but come on then, pretty girl, the boss man wants to speak to you. And the rescue mission failed." Uppercut lifted me up and held me over his shoulder. "No escape now."

I shook my hands and wriggled about in an attempt to free myself from the plastic cable ties that were rubbing the skin on my ankles and wrists.

"Put me down…" I said weakly, surveying the surroundings as Uppercut walked through a small corridor that opened out into the main hanger area of a warehouse.

"Willow West- so glad that you could join us all. I believe some introductions are due…" A tall and incredibly thin man walked towards Uppercut as the brute placed me down on the floor with little delicacy.

A metal spider crawled across the floor and sliced my cable ties before skittering along the warehouse floor, out of sight.

"I am Metallica," the tall man added, extending his hand out to help me up, but I declined it. "Okay, I would like to offer you a preposition. One that I hope you will accept for your own good." Metallica had pale skin and silvery blonde hair that was pulled back into a long, low hanging ponytail. "I want you to infiltrate the Justice Team of America. Uppercut informs me that you are the daughter of Artemis and the original Kid Flash- God rest his soul… So naturally as their child, Nightwing will embrace you with open arms. That will secure your position as a member of the Justice League's kiddy squad. In return, this box and much more will be yours." Metallica clicked his slender fingers for a hooded figure to emerge from the shadows.

The figure was carrying a rectangular wooden box with intricate carvings on the side that caught my eye.

"I present to you, one of the few collapsible bows that were forged in the fires of Apokolips. Something of which no amount of money can buy. I am sure that this is sentimental to you and as you are ambidextrous, you'll be able to use either hand."

My head shook rapidly, reminding myself of the values I held closest to me. The values of good and evil. I didn't even realise that my hand was stretched out and my fingertips grazed the surface of the box.

"No. I can't do that. It would be so wrong, and I don't want to. Nightwing is- he's like family to me. I could never ever betray him like that."

Metallica closed the lid of the box and held it out to me, only confusing me more. "Take it anyway, as a parting gift. I'm in a- relatively good mood so I will give you one final offer. It has severe consequences should you choose to reject my offer. Do you have an understanding of what I am replying, Willow West?"

My stomach was turning at the thought of these sever consequences he was referring to, but if this was going to be the only way for me to get out alive, then perhaps the risk had to be taken.

"Why?"

Metallica chuckled at my apparent naivety. "Oh my dear child, I want to learn about the weaknesses of the Justice Team."

"But that's wrong…"

"Oh Willow. Willow, Willow, Willow. You really don't get it, do you? Darling, you really don't have a choice, because if you don't help me, then I'll have to dispose of your little rescue team."

"Rescue team?" I knew he must have been talking about Firewing, but one boy was hardly a rescue team. "What are you talking about?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"Your little superhero friends apparently thought they could storm my stronghold, breach my security, retrieve their little friend and leave unharmed. Come with me and see them for yourself then."

He took my hand and marched me over to a little raised platform where two people about my age had been tied up.

"The game is over, Willow. Not even Boy Wonder here was able to save you…" Metallica snapped his fingers again.

This time, it was Uppercut who appeared like an obedient little dog. Hanging over his shoulder, was the limp body of Firewing.

"So here is the final and last offer that I will give you. You will agree to infiltrate the Justice Team, and in return, I will let you and your three friends leave this place alive. Because I'm in a generous mood, you can even keep the Apokolips bow for definite."

My mind raced with thoughts and scenarios over how I was going to get out of the warehouse alive if I said no. These people tried to save me, so I thought that I owed them their freedom and this was how I would have to do it. I just didn't know what to say or do when it was such controversial betrayal that I would have to commit.

"Okay, if you let these people go, then I'll-" It hurt to even think about the words that I was going to say. "I'll give you the information you desire."

"Excellent choice, Willow…" Metallica mumbled, pulling an old flip-up mobile phone from the inside pocket of his coat. "I will be in contact with you when I require your intel on the Justice Team. If you try to dispose of the phone, I'll know. If you refuse, I'll do something. If you ignore me, I break your fingers. Oh, and you can forget about warning your little friends about our deal, because if you do, then the metal structure of the Hall of Justice might just collapse… Or the Watchtower's metallic element will magnetise towards the Earth's surface with so much force that there won't be any survivors in Gotham City – maybe even America. Let's just say I control metal so it's possible. Am I quite clear, Willow?"

"Clear as you wanted me to be, Metallica. I understand," I replied, slipping the phone into my hoodie pocket as Metallica and Uppercut started to walk away. "Wait…" I turned to continue, but they were both out of sight before I had the chance to.

"Fin! Nightstar!" a tall boy called out, running to where the two were lashed together. He was tall (not quite as tall as Uppercut) and had these broad shoulders with thick and muscular arms that made me never want to meet him down a dark alleyway alone, but he was clearly a friend. He cut the ropes around the two teens that he called Fin and Nightstar. They ropes dropped to the ground.

"What happened?" the girl asked, shaking her head slowly.

"Never mind your questions, Nightstar. Return to base. That's an order. Nightwing trusted us to complete the rescue mission. Now that we have done that, I'd like for us to get to debriefing on time… I've got to feed back to Nightwing so that a training plan can be devised. You've got a lot to learn. There is vast room for improvement."

The dark skinned boy I think was called Finn retaliated, "Hey, we weren't all trained as protégés. So we've got to get to that stage first. There's always going to be room for improvement."

The tall boy stopped and smiled at me from behind a white mask. "I must be looking at Willow… An introduction is in order. I am Jester." He held out his hand to me. "Come with us if you want to live."

I didn't say a word, but he grabbed my hand and led me to their base, along with Fin, Nightstar and Firewing.

But once we got to the base, Jester stopped me from going inside. "I believe you dropped this," he said in a low tone as he produced the rectangular box that the collapsible Apokolips bow was in from underneath his cape. "Don't leave it lying around. It looks valuable."

Jester walked inside and I just stood there like a lemon – it was as if he knew about the agreement I had somewhat been forced into by Metallica.

Cautiously, I carried on walking behind Ryan, hoping that I would see Nightwing again. I remembered him being a close friend of my mum's when they were my age. After I was born, Nightwing was nearly always there to help my mother out – he had just returned from a retreat to some place I had never heard of. Maybe because it was part of another galaxy. He and my mum were so close because of their relationships with the original Kid Flash. Wally West. My dad. So to think of seeing Nightwing again after so long, was forging a warm, glowing feeling in my heart.

"Nightwing?" I said shyly as I saw him across the main room of the base.

"Willow," he said, smiling as he held his arms out to me and we hugged one another in a tight embrace. "It's good to see you alive and well."

"Alive and well," I repeated.

"Good. Right. Jester, you feed back to Nightstar, Fin and Firewing whilst I talk over some things with Willow." Nightwing waited for his protégé's acknowledgement before leading me up onto the roof of the building, but something was bothering him.

I could tell – it was written all over his face, even behind the black mask.

"Are you okay, Nightwing?" I asked, sitting down on the edge of the roof beside him – slightly terrified by the fact that my feet were dangling hundreds of feet above the streets of Gotham.

He smiled softly. "You know, I was just thinking…"

"About what?" My fingers clawed the gravel behind me, leaning away from the edge.

"I was thinking about how strange it is that the next squad of the Justice family are nearly all the children of the generation before them."

"Well, you are the last of the superheroes, Richard. You are the ones that have to protect the world."

"You were always one of the few people who called me Richard."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well it must be better than 'dog,' right?"

Nightwing turned away from me. "He always had a way with words, your dad…"

It seemed weird how I always spoke about the man I called Dad, more so because I never actually met him. All I had to keep him alive were old photos, his souvenirs and everyone else's memories.

"Come on, there's something I want to show you. We'll go to the Watchtower."

"What's that?" I asked, my voice shaking a little from the worrying.

"It's alright. Think of the Watchtower as a second base- one that's off surface."

The realisation hit me after a while. "You mean – you mean that the Watchtower is in space. You're taking me to space?"

"You have been there once before, when you were very small. So just wait and see, okay?"

Nightwing led me to the Watchtower and I couldn't believe that, that I was in space; standing on a floating asteroid in space.

"Willow!" a young boy shouted, waving at me. He was wearing ordinary clothes, meaning I instantly made the connection.

"Max?" I replied, noticing that there was a similarity between Max and Firewing. They were the same.

"Isn't this amazing? You should join the Justice Squad and help me, Mari, Finn, and also Ryan. Ryan is Jester… but nobody likes Ryan- apart from his girlfriend Lola that is." Max grinned before receiving a sharp slap to the back of his head by Nightwing. "Sorry Dad…" he murmured, rubbing the back of his head. "But we can think of your superhero name now."

 _No…_

Max was setting me up to betray them and he didn't even know it. It was starting to look as though there was no way I could avoid Metallica's traitorous deal…

"What's in the box, Willow?" Max frowned at the rectangular box in my arms. "I don't remember you having that when you left school, or in the warehouse."

"Well I kind of didn't."

"Kind of- How kind of?" Max fired back rapidly. "Either you had it, or you didn't."

"Well I- I- I took it back from Metallica."

"You know about Metallica." Max cautiously stepped back. "Do you know what's inside the box?"

"Mm-hmm," I replied slowly, nodding my head. "It's a bow, a collapsible bow." I carefully opened the box and turned it around to show him what it looked like.

"Woah…"

His fingers reached out to touch the bow, but my possessive nature encouraged me to shut the box and hold it close.

"Oh come on, Willow!" he moaned. "Let's me fire it Willow, please!" His hands locked together in a pleading fashion.

"I hope my brother's not annoying you." A girl walked towards me. "I'm Mari by the way."

"We've met before. I'm Willow, Willow West."

Mari's mouth hung open in disbelief. "Wills? Oh god, I didn't even recognise you. I didn't even put a name to your face – this is amazing!"

Max obviously couldn't resist poking fun at the situation that was unfolding. "I wonder what or who my sister really pays attention to in de-briefings if she didn't realise it was you who we were rescuing."

I smiled weakly as Mari suddenly threw her arms around me, causing me to drop the box.

"It's so good to see you, Willow. Oh!" she exclaimed when she saw the collapsed bow on the floor. "That's- that's been forged in the fires at Apokolips, where did you get it?"

My mind began to race again, and I was completely flustered without any ability to construct a logically sound sentence.

"It was – a – well, I fou- oh I can't remember. I had had it for so long now that I don't know anymore!"

Max laughed. "You don't need to worry, Willow. It's not like Metallica decided to gift you the probably most expensive bow in the world in exchange for information, was it?"

Nervous laughter escaped my mouth.

"Are you joining the Justice Squad?" Mari asked me once the laughter died before grasping my hands in hers. She whispered, "We could do with another girl on the team, it gets so boring being the only girl."

"Oh I'm not so sure about that, Mari. I wouldn't even know what to do on a mission or something like that. Thinking on my feet isn't a strength of mine."

"But you could have a home here." Mari smiled, before covering her hand with her mouth. "Sorry, it's just that the Flash- Barr, he told us that you were staying with him, his wife and the twins. Sounds like a tight squeeze… Plus, there are plenty of available rooms here. Finn and Ryan already have one, and there are still a few spare rooms. You could have your pick."

There was a lot behind why I moved in with Barry Allen and his family. He was no longer the Flash since Apocalypse struck the Justice League. It was a series of dark events that tore the old Justice League apart, damaging some of them beyond repair. In a way, each of the Justice Leaguers was affected in one way or another. The old Flash was left in a wheelchair, unable to use his legs or ability. I was there to be able to help care for him. The twins were just a little bit older than me but were already studying abroad in England. Barry and his wife encouraged them to work on academia outside of Gotham City – that way they wouldn't be made targets of the villains in the world for being the Flash's children. Barry and his wife embraced having me in the house, but I couldn't live there forever, so maybe joining the Justice Squad was a way of getting a new home and really fitting in somewhere. You only get so many second chances.

"I suppose. Maybe." Not even realising it, my shoulders hunched over and I shied away.

"Please!" Max smiled.

"O-kay… Okay, I'll- I'll join the Squad," I said cheerfully. "What are you going to call me, Firewing?"

"I think Huntress, or Archeress, or Artemis- something like that?"

The mentioning of some of those names, I recoiled and back away from them.

Mari piped up and broke the short silence, "I like the idea of Willow's hero name being related to an archer or something, but Artemis and Huntress have already been taken by Willow's mother and grandmother… So maybe follow the tradition. I'm pretty sure that in Greek and Roman mythology, there's two names for Artemis- Diana? At least I think it's Diana."

"I like Diana…" I smiled slightly. "What do you think, Nightwing?"

Nightwing placed a hand on Mari and Max. "Well if these guys want you on the team and you like the name Diana, then why not? Jester! You got a new teammate."

Ryan was now wearing his own clothes, just like Mari and Max. He was currently engrossed in his phone, even though it clearly wouldn't work whilst in space. "Oh, right, sorry. Sounds like good news. Listen Nightwing – I got a date meeting me outside the Hall of Justice… I'll be back for more discussions later tonight."

"Okay, good job tonight, Jester. It was a success." Nightwing watched Ryan go on his way. "Mari, why don't you go and show Willow to her new home?"

Mari smiled at her father. "Come on Willow, let's go find you a room." She linked arms with me and took me through the weird transport method that took us down to the main base. "Finn and Ryan have rooms just down there, I'm pretty sure that there are two more rooms available. Looks as though you've got the choice of the two."

"Well that's okay. I don't mind. A room is a room at the end of the day."

Barry Allen was so caring about me when I told him that I was moving out to join the Justice Squad – he insisted that I stay where I was, rather than move out.

But I wanted to move out, so that I wouldn't be an inconvenience to Barry and his family. Not that he ever thought I was.

I was sat on the bed in my room, looking at the decorations that had been set up in my room. A single bed was tucked away in the corner of the room, furthest from the door. Beside the bed, was a tall, wood wardrobe. The gap between the bed and the wardrobe provided a good place to hide the collapsible bow – should any unwanted guests come into my room. On the other side of the room, there was an antique, wooden desk that had some intricate carvings in it, curtesy of Finn as a welcome to your new home present. There, I would be able to take care of any school work that I had to do. Yes, I still had school work to endure, along with rigorous training schedules that had put into place by Jester. Other than the basic furniture, I had some of my own belongings, including a random dart board that hung on the door. When I wasn't training or doing schoolwork, I enjoyed either being outside or practicing precision sports. Like darts and archery. Particularly building up my weaker hand.

The one thing I wasn't so sure about was the outfit that I had to wear as Diana. It was kept on a mannequin that was in a hollowed out part of the wall. On the dull grey mannequin, was my hero outfit.

A warrior queen outfit as Mari and Max called it – but I called it a gladiator outfit. Over where the mannequin's eye would have been, was a plain brown mask – I liked the mask, it was about the only thing I liked. Hugging the mannequin's body was a brown bodice that had a gold chevron pattern on it. Trying to stick with the gladiator theme, it had a panelled brown skirt that also had the gold chevron pattern on each panel. In drawers underneath the mannequin, were the accessories that included brown guards for my arms and legs, gladiator sandals and leather wrist pads for when I was indulging in archery. It did look really good with the collapsible bow…

But working in this outfit was one of the most complicated things.

That afternoon I was going to endure the most rigorous training exercise imaginable. I was being pitted against Jester in hand to hand combat, and it was obvious that he was stronger than I was.

"Come on Diana- at least try and make me work."

"Well… Less is sometimes more," I panted, raising my hands up in front of my face as if I was ready to karate chop him to death.

I looked at Jester, squinting a little from behind my brown mask, feeling my eyelashes graze the material of it.

He was physically stronger than I was, and had the height advantage too – along with way more experience than me.

"Come on Diana!" he growled with more angry and exasperation.

Urged to do something, I couldn't. I had frozen and was unable to move. Glancing to the left, I saw Firewing and Nightstar watching, though the youngster was starting to lose interest as his older sister silently cheered me on by nodding her head enthusiastically and shaking her fists. I tried to throw a few kicks and punches, but he merely sidestepped out of the way of each one.

"Good Diana – very good. We are actually getting somewhere. You're beginning to put up the small level of fight that Firewing did when he was six!" Jester goaded me, and it was working a little bit. "Come on!"

But I had to stop myself, it was clear that he was hoping for a reaction so that I would drop my guard.

"Jester, your mobile telephone, it rings…" The Atlantean called Finley- with a superhero name Fin, came timidly towards me and Jester. In his hands was Jester's phone. "It's Lo-la- she's calling you and it won't stop ringing. There are now eleven calls recorded."

Just as Jester was about to take the phone, I decided in a second to take a leaf out of his book and play dirty. Like he had done so in our last training session.

I twirled around to give my roundhouse kick the momentum it needed. My foot slammed into Jester's side, knocking him back to the ground with a sharp grunt.

"Session over, Diana!" he snapped before answering the call. "Lola, babe, give me a second. Just wait-" he said, speaking with a slightly more positive tone than I had heard him speak in.

"That was, really impressive…" Finn said, holding his hand out to help me up off the floor.

With the sheer momentum of the kick, I had completely missed my landing and ended up on the floor.

"Thanks," I murmured, politely ignoring his help and rolling forwards on to my feet. "Though I wish he would spend less time taking phone calls."

Finn laughed, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I'm sure you don't mean that to sound malicious, but I get what you mean. Training hasn't been the same since this new girlfriend came along…"

"Really? Because the way he acts, I get the impression that they had been going out for a while now – so who is she?"

"Oh- um, he- she's-" Finn stammered, taken aback by my curiousity. "Well she is called Lola and Jester describes her as the dream girl. Intellectual, pretty, athletic and quick-witted, really quick-witted."

I couldn't help but scowl at him. "She sounds like his polar opposite. But he is so engrossed in his girlfriend to even notice that Nightwing has been sending Angel and Green Canary to go on mediocre missions because we aren't capable."

Nightstar coughed in an obvious manner from behind us. "Don't be like that Wi- Diana… it's the territory that comes with juggling hero life and a personal life. He's just lucky he's got a girlfriend who isn't a hero."

An inadvertent soft snort escaped my mouth, causing her to hit me, hard. So hard that it really hurt- she definitely had additional strength on her list of abilities. Nightstar was so clearly into Jester, despite the fact he had a girlfriend…

"It's not funny, Willow!"

Firewing was once again eager to throw a spanner in the works at his sister's expense. "Well there is always the Flying Fox, right sis? You'd think that you wanted to marry him based on those doe eyed looks that you give him whenever our paths cross." He turned to look over his shoulder at me. "Just so that you know, Flying Fox is a real nemesis of ours. Always interfering and making everything three times more difficult for us by simply being in the area."

"Really?" I asked.

Nightstar rolled her eyes. "Max! You know that it's not like that!" In a burst of anger, a violet string of starbolt energy hit the wall beside her brother. "I will not miss next time!"

In amongst the tiny little squabble that was unfolding between Nightstar, Firewing and I, none of us even noticed that Green Canary had returned from her own mission.

Maybe Finn had, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Okay kids, that's enough of that now…" she sighed, clapping her hands and causing the vibrations to repel us away from each other. "Much better. Your next mission awaits." She turned on her toes and started walking away. "Are you coming or are you waiting for a formal invitation?"

I instantly ran to grab my collapse bow off the bench and chased after Green Canary and my teammates.

It was my first mission, and it couldn't have come at the right time – this was my chance to prove that I was a worthy part of the team and opponent to the darkness.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Ah! Another chapter out of the way, but in the next chapter, I'm going to stick with it being from Willow's perspective – what do you make of Willow?**


	4. Chapter 4 - Willow West

Disclaimer: I do not own the existing characters that we know and love of Young Justice, although I do take ownership over the new characters i.e. The majority of the Team's children

Big thank you to my beta, LynnnSmith – an amazing beta who has been with me since the start of the story!

 **Chapter 04** – Willow West

"Diana – welcome to your first ever briefing where you will be equipped with hopefully all the information that you need to know." Green Canary smiled before sweeping her hand across the panel that was linked to the projections that were being displayed in front of our eyes like some kind of science fiction film. "I hope you recognise the location…"

Firewing smirked at his den mother. "That's the house of the guy who is running for Police Commissioner of Gotham City against Mr Gordon. Why- what's happening there?"

"Good observations, Firewing. Ever since Mr Jenson revealed that he was putting himself forwards to being Police Commissioner of Gotham City when one still exists, there have been a few issues. Activist groups have been threatening Mr Jenson over his controversial views towards animals-"

"Don't tell Beast Boy…"

"Firewing- this is not the time for jokes, Beast Boy is currently on a mission with Stem Cell so that is out of the question. Regardless, the candidate and his family have been threatened so this must be taken seriously. It has been decided by Nightwing and Aqualad that there should be surveillance on the house in case there are any attacks as such…" Green Canary flicked through the screens and pulled up a map view of the street where the house was. A red dot signified the house. "Jester. You and Firewing will be parked in the unmarked black surveillance van complete with the necessary equipment you might like. Diana, you will be stationed on the roof so that you can have the ground advantage near the house with your archery. Nightstar, you will take to the sky and have the bird's eye advantage. Finn, you will be positioned inside the house as a last resort, should anyone get past Diana and Nightstar. This may not be a glamorous mission, but it is just whilst a safe house is being finalised for the family… Angel, do you have anything to add?"

Angel approached us, wearing a full white body suit that left pretty much only his face and a little bit of hair had been poking out the face hole. But what I couldn't draw my eyes away from were the two wings with rows of feathers lined up in complete uniformity that were protruding from his back.

"I'll say a few words if it stops you from talking G.C." He laughed, winking playfully at her, even though she barely cracked a smile, but I was sure I saw her cheek muscles twitch. "As Green Canary has explained my plan already, there isn't much else for me to say. Apart from treat this like a mission. Green Canary, A.J and myself will be observing each of you with a critical eye in order for you to develop as a fully functioning team."

A look was exchanged between Green Canary and Angel that insinuated that we weren't to know that this mission was like a test.

"Well, just make sure that you've got a comms link ear piece. A.J has them all set out for you on the table over there. The transport leaves in five minutes… Um, what are you waiting for? Get moving!" Angel laughed as we all rushed about to try and get ready.

I grabbed the quiver of arrows that Nightwing had gifted me and swung it over my shoulder. That's when I realised that my hair was now hanging loosely down my shoulders, but I had nothing to tie it up with. I looked about desperately for something to use when I saw a brown bandage that worked well as a hair tie on my thick red hair.

Time was still running out as I staggered towards the van that would take us to the location – I was trying to tightening the straps on my wrist guards as I ran, but the collapsed bow just got in the way. In its collapsed form, it was not much bigger than a ping pong bat, and was incredibly light.

"Come on Diana, we're waiting on just you now!" Jester called out the window. "There we go!"

If he wasn't the leader of this group, I totally would have gone and whacked him over the head with my bow. As I sat down in the van, I wondered whether the bow would really hurt if it connected with a person in such a manner. But Jester was the leader on the good side, so he had some respect from me on that basis.

At the Jenson house, Nightstar lifted me up and flew up on to roof, which was when she gasped, "You still haven't gotten your ear piece. Oh man, A.J is going to kill you!" She pointed at my ear.

I started to panic and wondered what on earth I was going to do – I had no other way of keeping in touch with the others, and Mari needed to get into position in order to survey the area from above.

"Take mine," Mari said, offering me hers, but I pushed it away.

"No you need yours too… It's going to be okay – I can just go and get mine off of A.J. He'll have picked it up, he has to have."

A.J hadn't picked up the spare one, and the look on his face was so belittling that I didn't even want to try and ask to borrow Max or Ryan's. Though Max looked like he was about to try and slip it to me. I was going to just have to try and get on with the missions without a comms link for help.

Which was going to be a risky strategy.

But when I reached the house in the darkness, I had no way of getting to the roof. The house was big, like a mansion, with caste iron black gates that had clanged as they closed behind me so there was no way back out. I crept towards the house where I found icy clinging to the walls. I tested the strength of the wall to see if it would take my weight, and as it held I started to climb. Getting from the ivy onto the roof was tricky, even with my collapsed bow attached to my belt and the arrows in their quiver that I was wearing like a satchel bag. I had to swing my leg up so that it was in the drain pipe lining the roof. It was wet, and full of dead leaves. But there wasn't anything else for me to grab onto, so I attempted to roll over onto the roof.

Though I slipped and ended up rolling the other direction, but I was caught in someone's arms before I got near the ground below. It was Angel – he must have been watching me and Mari.

"Not a word to G.C that I intervened just now, or she'll have us deaf by morning…"

"Right, I mumbled, finding my footing on the roof and slowly shuffling over to the cover of the chimney. "So now what?" I muttered, unable to get my thoughts across to my fellow teammates. I couldn't even make a comment on my good visibility, or the fact that it seemed quiet, almost too quiet. Not that I would have anyone agree with me.

In anticipation, I pressed the release trigger on my collapsed bow, extending it to its full length. Holding it in my left hand, I plucked an arrow from my quiver and clipped it into place. I steadied myself against the chimney wall as I scanned the surrounding area. The arrow followed an invisible line back and forth. With every car that passed us, I felt my heart race as I thought it could be one of the groups that was threatening the family.

Whilst I didn't agree that there should be some kind of election to be Police Commissioner there was no need to threaten both him and his family when all he really wants to do is progress through the ranks.

"Come on… Somebody make a move," I muttered scanning around the cluster of trees inside the mansion's compound.

It was hard to check both sides of the house when it took time to switch to look over the over side of the mansion.

I looked up, hoping that I might be able to see Nightstar hovering overhead, but it was way too cloudy and dark to see anything.

The quick swish of leaves. I was sure I heard that, but as I closed my eyes to listen harder, the wind started to buffet me, distracting my concentration and making me lose my train of thought.

As I opened my eyes, I saw a bright blur, so the arrow was released from my bow, hurtling through the air and missing the blur completely. The blur was moving so quickly that I barely had enough time to focus but I refused to loosen another arrow so quickly. I then knew that it must be a speedster – like Kid Flash, which made me doubt the authenticity of the mission – but regardless, still a mission I had to prove myself for.

"Finn! Finn!" I snapped, wondering if he would even hear me a bit.

The blur was still darting amongst the bushes and trees – like it was trying to scope out the place.

I loosened another arrow down directly after the house's porch in the hope that Finn might see it and be alert. Then the arrow vanished, making me gasp, but I gritted my teeth in anger and frustration at my plan being effectively foiled. I was starting to feel as though I really should have taken Nightstar's ear piece and loosened one more arrow, quickly followed by another in delayed succession.

The bright blur stopped and stumbled to avoid the second arrow, tripping over. She was of average height and had long brown straggly hair. Her eyes were hidden behind white rimmed goggles, but it was her sleeveless yellow skin tight suit and white boots that made her stand out in the night.

"No!" I yelled, pulling an arrow on the girl. "Nightstar!"

The girl remained exactly where she was, which surprised me because I thought by now, she would have just sped away from us to safety. Her hand was brushing and kind of massaging her ankle. She wasn't running away, because she couldn't.

Nightstar dropped down to the roof and carried me to the ground with my bow still aimed on the injured girl.

"Diana?" Finn asked, opening up the front door and peering around it. "Should I call Jester?"

I jerked around, giving him a swift glance. "Focus on protecting the family – she is probably just a distraction…"

Nightstar looked at me – I could see her looking at me in my peripheral vision.

The girl was so close to the house, I just couldn't risk taking my eyes off her. Whilst I felt bad for causing her an injury, she was helpless and couldn't do much more harm.

"What now, Diana?" Nightstar whispered.

Just then, a grey canister that was the size of a baked bean can was thrown towards us, rolling along the short grass. There was a split moment where I stopped to look at the canister for a moment, but Nightstar's foot shot out, kicking it as grey smog started to spew out of both ends.

Coughing and spluttering, I threw myself between the girl and the house, thinking that I would be lucky enough to catch her. I slammed into the ground with a thud, but leapt up onto my feet, blinking rapidly as the gas was stinging my eyes.

I tried to get to the house, walking into the steps and just managing to catch the banister.

A flash of violet light showed me where Nightstar was – and that wasn't near the house.

The smog began to lift and I got in the doorway of the house where I saw Finn lying on the ground and Mr Jenson, his wife and two children were lashed together by rope.

"Don't just stand there! Untie us!" his wife shrieked furiously.

It took a moment to survey the room for any threat, and when I was satisfied, I used my last arrow and held it tightly as I started to saw away at the rope.

"I think this is yours," Mr Jenson said, passing me a slightly crumpled note.

Keeping a hold of the note, I then immediately focused my attention on Finn. "Can you hear me? Finn, are you okay?" Nightstar! Call A.J and Angell! Quick!" I panicked when Finn didn't react and I could only feel the faintest of pulse in his wrist. "No Finn, not on my first mission…"

"I'm calling the cops." Mr Jenson picked up the phone from the stand, pressing the buttons with his thick fingers.

I leapt up and slammed the phone from his hands, without even thinking. Not thinking about how my actions may have looked or how rude it may have been. "You cannot contact the cops, this is being dealt with by the Justice Squad and the Justice Team."

Angel came into the house with his wings folded in, but still making him look incredibly tall. "Diana- the cops will be here to secure the area. You go with Jester and canvas the area to see if you can find any clues about the little speedster. Don't worry about Finn- me and Firewing will take care of everything. He'll be in safe hands, I'm sure. Nightstar, you will accompany A.J and the Jensons to the safe house…"

I wanted to protest and try to help Finn, but I knew that Angel wouldn't let me. I ran out of the house, collapsing my bow down and clipping it to my belt.

"Diana- with me!" barked Jester, who turned to run through the now open gates. "We have to canvas the area for a trace of the speedster."

I nodded and grudgingly followed him along the road. The panels of my gladiator skirt flapped about from the speed I was running at. I was glad that the skirt was made in panels, because it meant that I could be super athletic and not get caught up in a tight, movement restricting outfit. Plus, being called Diana and loving to study Greeks and Romans in History meant that I adored this outfit that Nightwing had gifted to me.

Impulsively, I chose to run into the wooded area that ran alongside the Jenson's house. It would be a perfect place to hide and observe the family at the same time. The air was cold as it whistled through my hair. I felt that she was in the nearby area, I just couldn't tell you where. I crouched down on the ground and closed my eyes slowly, listening. Just listening to the movements and sounds. A twig snapped and I drew an arrow to connect with the bow in its state of opening out. I released the string and watched the arrow whistled through the air, embedding itself into a tree, only millimetres from where Jester was now crouched. He glared at me, and I was sure I saw his hand jerk- like he was ushering someone along, whilst I was distracted.

"Who's there?" I called out, squinting in his direction.

A blur of white – I saw it.

My eyes suddenly grew wide, because Jester knew exactly who the speedster was. I couldn't just go around accusing him when I had no proof.

"Did you see anything, Diana?" he prompted an urgent response.

"No, I didn't. We lost them." I dropped my head, avoiding eye contact and saw some footprints, heavy in the grass that led right towards Jester and past him.

Jester was hiding something… but I was too timid to accuse him of anything without proof. Part of me didn't trust him. He was subtle and secretive- way too secretive for my liking, and he really focused far too much on his appearance.

"Diana, come on- let's go." Jester stormed past me. "Let's go back to base and debrief with Green Canary."

I nodded slowly, unable to bring myself to argue with Jester. Part of me didn't like him. He just came across as so untrustworthy- Nightwing was always telling me that I was forever seeing the good and the bad in people. He would tell me I was wrong about Jester, that Jester is just not what I'm used to. This intuition was just how I was built internally.

On returning to the base, we all changed into our casual clothes, ready for a debriefing. Whenever we wore our own clothes, we relaxed and called one another by our first names… Although the Justice Team never seemed to change out of their supersuits. I loved my battle suit, but when I had to put on my own clothes and look in the mirror, I saw all the imperfections that I would try and cover up. My brightly coloured hair. The freckles on my face. The way my face seemed red like I'd had an allergic reaction. I didn't notice these things as much when I wore my Diana outfit.

I sat down at the horseshoe shaped table that was in the briefing room. The briefing room was situated off to the side of the base. To one side, it was panels of glass windows that looked into the main room of Justice Squad's base. Distracted, I watched Max observe the multiple computer screens for any incoming threats.

Green Canary strutted confidently into the room and went straight to the whiteboard that was opposite us. She took a deep breath and almost pirouetted to look at us.

"Before you all ask and bombard me with questions, Fin'abarra is doing just fine. He's just going to need some time off to recover. The Jensons are currently at our safe house with Nightwing- I suppose the mission was partly a success. Ryan has filled me in on everything that happened on the mission. It seems like there is an activist group who is out to get us and Mr Jenson."

I nodded in agreement. "The speedster," I mumbled quietly, hoping that I wouldn't be heard.

"What was that, Willow?" Green Canary raised an eyebrow at me.

I had completely forgotten about her ability to pick up even the beating wings of a fly, so she must have heard me say it. So why would she ask? It made me feel like Ryan hadn't told her everything about the mission. She appeared like she was unaware of why I would make a comment about a speedster if I wasn't sure.

I froze up, feeling Mari, Ryan and Green Canary's gazes being fixated on me. My chest tightened and I bolted up, knocking the chair back. The nerves had gotten the best of me once again and I just couldn't speak.

"Willa?" Mari asked, putting her hand on my shoulder. Her hand was hot as it brushed me. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing. I didn't say anything…" I whispered.

Eventually, Green Canary excused us and turned to look at the whiteboard that she had put up all of the details about the Jenson case. At a glance, it seemed that Mr Jenson had been caught taking money from the CEO of a company that had been accused of dumping oil in the lake. Oil that had found its way into the nature reserve, thus upsetting various animal rights group. If I was right in my assumption, I believed that this speedster was one of the members of these groups. She was clearly there to frighten Mr Jenson – maybe even kidnap him if we weren't there.

"Not you Willow, I want to talk to you about something." Green Canary folded her arms and flicked her slick, sandy coloured hair to one side with a swift head movement.

I noticed Ryan grimacing at me from where he stood, towering over Max. Ryan clearly knew something about the case that we, the Justice Squad, were working on, but I was too scared to say anything.

"Yes Green Canary?" I asked, slouching into the glass door, wishing that it opened the other way so I could slip out of the debriefing room.

"Sit down, Willow..." she demanded harshly, pushing out a chair for me from under the table with her boot. "Now I know what Ryan told me about the mission- but you said something in the debriefing that stuck with me. You said something about a speedster, but you clearly didn't want the other two to know what you said. So I'm guessing that Ryan knows more than he is letting on?"

My eyes grew wide before I could even think of hiding any emotion or thoughts.

"Willow- you may have undergone some basic training with Nightwing, but this goes to show that you really need some additional training on avoiding interrogation techniques." Green Canary folded her arms. "If you can't hide what you're thinking to me, how do you think that you would hold up if you were captured by Metallica and Uppercut again?"

I felt my bottom lip quivering slowly at the thought of not being a successful hero like my parents were at my age. "I think- I think… I can't say. Sorry."

Green Canary rolled her eyes before opening the door for me. "Angel wants me to tell you that you need to keep up with your schoolwork and training – he noticed that you have been absent from a number of training sessions lately. If you cannot juggle both, then we will have to reconsider your position on the Justice Squad."

That night, I was sat at my desk trying to catch up on my English Literature assignments. It always felt so weird doing normal teenage stuff in amongst the not so normal hero stuff. Sometimes my head felt like it was going to explode at the pressure that was on me. Especially at the thought of Metallica infiltrating the Justice Squad and League, through me. He hadn't contacted me yet for information on the Justice League and its members.

He would surely ask for our real identities, and not just any alias- the real ones. Me, Max, Mari and Ryan would be at the front of it all. Finn could always escape to Atlantis if it ever got out. I pressed my head into my hands at the thought of the newspapers and reporters shoving microphones and cameras in our faces. Things were different now, and we all had to keep each other safe. Our identities were the most valuable possession. It had been drilled into us that the people would only know us by our hero names. In school, some kids spoke about the Justice members like we were celebrities – lame celebrities because we hadn't really done any successful missions… Not yet. Mostly because we were still beginners, even Ryan.

But looking at the compartment that my gladiator hero suit was in made me think about Mum.

Artemis Crock.

No one could explain what happened to her after my dad died and she had me. She went looking for trouble, and she found it – or it found her. In Icicle Jr…

Nightwing and Aqualad tried to bring her back to the Justice Team, but she was already lost to them. It was as if she had had her mind wiped and didn't have any memories of before my dad's death.

A strong series of sturdy knocks disturbed my thought process. I slammed my English textbook shut and turned to face the door.

"He- hello?" I stammered, edging towards the door.

"Willow, it's Ryan- open the door…" his voice responded harshly from the other side of the door.

I opened the door slightly, but he burst into the room boldly, shutting the door behind him. I had already backed into the room as he squared up to me, towering over me.

"Ryan…" I murmured feebly.

"I got one thing to say to you Willow. You might think that I know something and I didn't tell Green Canary, but you must be mistaken. We were there on that mission, and if you are sure about telling lies to Green Canary, I might just get there before you. Tell her something you clearly don't want her to hear…" He folded his arms swiftly and stood up straighter. His lanky but muscly frame was intimidating to say the least. "Do we have an understanding?... _I said,_ do we have an understanding?"

My head bobbed, unable to say any words whatsoever.

Another deal made… Metallica wanted me to pass on information about the Justice Squad, and Ryan wanted me to withhold the fact that he knew who the speedster was…

He had just confirmed that he knew who the speedster was.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = This chapter was started months ago and I am relatively pleased with how it has come across, but a female speedster – who even is she? :O**


	5. Chapter 5 - Rosemary Grayson

Disclaimer: I do not own the existing characters that we know and love of Young Justice, although I do take ownership over the new characters i.e. The majority of the Team's children

 **Chapter 05 –** Rosemary Grayson

It had been a couple of days since our first mission and things were beginning to return to normality, for the moment. Whilst there were no ongoing missions for the Justice Squad to deal with, it was back to school and indulging myself in general studies. That was the deal I had made with Dad. He said if I wanted to be included in the fight for justice, I had to keep up with my studies.

I woke up like it was any other day where I needed to go to school and grabbed my go-to school outfit. A black pleated skirt, a purple top, black boots and my necklace. The necklace used to belong to my mother, the superhero Starfire before she disappeared. It was a special Tamaranean stone on a silver chain that apparently brought good luck and protection to the wearer.

Dad always made sure that me and Max were driven to school by our driver. It was always a strange concept to be driven around by someone unrelated to me or any of the Justice league members. Our driver was nice enough, engaging in idle chit chat on occasion which sometimes made the journey drag a little as I tried to remain polite.

When we arrived at school, Max darted off to go and see his friend in the computer lab. His massive school bag bounced as he ran which made me laugh.

One thing I didn't like about normal school life was having to be normal – I had to wear contact lenses that made my eyes look like everyone else's. Normally, they were completely green with no pupil, similar to the Tamaraneans, but Dad said I had to wear these lenses that gave me a pupil. Then I wasn't allowed to fly and I had to walk everywhere, which was a total bore, although Max and I were working on getting a natural glide into my walk so that I could still be me.

"Miss Grayson. You'd better hurry up or you'll be late. I'm not covering for you if you get a detention, young lady," the driver said, leaning out of the window and tipping his hat to me.

I didn't say anything, but I started to walk into the school building instead. The lessons were boring, and at the end of the day, one of the popular girls sat down on the desk in front of me.

This was Ellie Winston – the girl that lots of the guys thought was the best looking girl in the school with her long, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was typically the epitome of the American girl in high school – on the cheerleading team, and president of insignificant clubs. But for Ellie to be approaching me, was something that was unheard of.

"Hey Rosemary- I was wondering…" she started, smiling sweetly.

"What were you wondering?" I asked, standing up and lifting my bag onto my shoulder. "I've got places to be so can we make it quick?"

Ellie flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Wow- um, okay. Basically, me and the girls were wondering if you would want to come to a little party that we're having tonight. It's just a small gathering of my girls and some of the guys, nothing majorly big. You seem cool enough, so I thought I should invite you along. Are you in?"

I scrunched up my face for a moment and then found her staring at me with an expectant look. "Oh I don't know, my dad is pretty strict and I don't think he would want me out late. Maybe another time." I started to make my way past her, but she grabbed my wrist. "Ellie?"

"Come on Rosemary, it'll be fun – we both know how much you like to break the rules so why don't you just break your curfew? What's the worst that could happen?"

I could have sworn that her perfectly manicured nails were slowly digging into my wrist.

 _Well Ellie, I can think of a lot of things that would be worse than being grounded for a week… Dad can get pretty imaginative and strict when it came to punishments for breaking curfew – and I did that a lot…_ I thought to myself, knowing that I had to shake Ellie off because tonight, I had planned to fit in a training session with Ryan once I had finished all my homework assignments.

"Sorry Ellie, not today." I ignored anything she could have said and darted out of the classroom. "What a day!" I sighed when I sat down in the car beside Max. "I know I'm late, I'm sorry…"

Max shrugged. "It's okay, are you still on for training with Jester this evening?"

"Only if I finish all my homework…"

Let's just say, there were a couple of science questions that I missed off from my homework before I made my way from home at Grayson Manor to the training room at the headquarters. I made sure that Dad did not notice me leaving the house – it was his day off and he was in his study going over some old articles and files.

At the headquarters, I changed into my Nightstar superhero suit ready for some intermediate training with Jester. I tried to avoid staring at Jester as he sat at a control panel, setting up a scenario for me to train for. He was like the cute guy in films that was unobtainable and I couldn't help but feel butterflies in my stomach when I saw him. Jester was so focused and driven when it came to training – he wanted to be the best hero and leader that the Justice Hall had ever seen, even better than my dad when he was our age.

"Nightstar, you're staring- are you okay?"

I didn't even realise I was doing the one thing I was trying to avoid, and the fact that my finger was practically knotted into my hair was twiddling it around in little circles. This was my giveaway when I liked a guy – I just hoped that no one had ever picked up on.

"Oh, yeah, sorry Rya- Jester. I'm ready when you are…" I mumbled, stumbling nervously over my words. "So… what's the scenario?"

Jester planted a hand to his face and just press a button to initiate the scenario. The way we trained was by using a virtual reality simulation that would test our abilities and skills. You still felt things lie pain and strength, but you were consciously aware that it technically wasn't real. The fact that Jester didn't tell me the scenario made me think he really as the jerk that I heard people say he was.

"Okay, come on Mari- let's analyse this scenario…"

I was in an old warehouse. Just by an exit. In the warehouse, it was like a maze of crates and stacked up boxes. I wondered what they were full of, but knew that I needed to work out what the point of the scenario was first before exploring the boxes' contents.

But finding out the purpose of this scenario was not an easy task. With no way of knowing what was going to happen, who the bad guys were, or what I was meant to do.

"Come on lady, tell us what we want to know!" a man called out.

I froze, pressing my back up close to the crate nearest to me in the hope that I couldn't be seen by whoever was in the warehouse. In my mind, my instincts were telling me that I was going against the clock as a lady was being interrogated and possibly tortured for information. That meant that I didn't have time to go about this in a dainty manner and collect all the information that I needed.

"Do I need to ask again?!" The man's voice sounded much more insistent and like his patience was diminishing. "Bring me the clamp…"

He was giving orders, so there was definitely somebody else there – maybe I could eliminate the person before they got the clamp? I crouched down, getting ready to peer around the box. There were a series of boxes that I could use as a shield, I darted about between boxes- occasionally rolling or gliding into safe spaces. It was hard to concentrate when I started to hear the woman's voice.

"No, please! I don't know what you're talking about! Please don't hurt me!"

Time was running out and I knew I didn't have long. To one side of the warehouse, there was a tall support beam that I knew would shield me from wherever the bad guys were. Having taken too long to explore the warehouse, I decided to change my initial plan and ran towards the support beam.

"What was that?" the guy called out.

I kicked gently off the floor and ascended up the beam, out of sight and placing my hands on the beam like I was climbing rather than flying. When I was nearly at the top, I stopped and checked on the warehouse below. I could see a woman strapped to a chair by tape and one man walking around her. There were two minions in total, one was fetching the clamp and the other was now searching the boxes where I once stood.

"I can't find nothing or nobody, boss…" the minion murmured, walking back towards his boss.

"Up there!" the boss shouted, pointing up at me. "Do something, you idiots!"

Having been spotted, I knew that I didn't have to go for subtlety, so I fired off some starbolts. I quickly shot off a few at the minions, who were struck and screamed out in pain as the heat singed their skin. Flying down, I charged at the boss who shot one of those catapult nets at me. The wind was knocked out of me as I was sent clattering into a crate, which practically disintegrated. The net was weighted so I was pinned down onto the splintered wood, the panic rising in me.

Then I remembered a trick that Max had developed with the starbolts. If I held back the power, it would be enough to burn through a metal bar, so what difference would some old rope make? As the boss was fast approaching me, I burnt through the rope and threw myself into him, barrelling across the ground. He kicked me off and out of nowhere pulled out a gun, firing at the hostage.

"No!" I screamed as the simulation failed.

The warehouse began to disintegrate into pixels, revealing the training room. I rolled over onto my back, unable to catch my breath.

"Why did you- why did you let that happen?" I asked, panting heavily. Using my abilities always took a lot of energy which is why Jester insisted on focusing on my physical strength when we were testing scenarios.

"You were clumsy, you didn't think properly-" Jester stopped mid-sentence, distracted by a notification that had come up on his phone. "I'll give Green Canary the debrief and she can go over the extensive lists of criticisms that I have when she's on duty tomorrow." He stood up and switched off the simulator, leaving the bright white lights to illuminate the already white room. "Don't forget that you're the last one here."

"Wait! Where are you going?" I asked, sitting up quickly. "It's not up to Green Canary to give feedback you know."

"What can I say?" he replied confidently. "I'd kill to have Green Canary give me feedback. Now I'm off to get me some- got to catch up on some work your dad gave me- is that a satisfactory answer for you, Nightstar?"

Jester didn't stop to hear my response – he was gone in a second. Sometimes he could be so nice, and other times he could be a right jerk.

As I switched off the lights in the training room, I noticed that Willow was standing at the other end of the corridor going out of the training room. She slouched into the wall when Jester strode past him, like she was scared and didn't want him to fully notice her.

"You okay, Willow?" I asked her once Jester was out of sight.

Willow nodded quickly, shaking his shoulders a little. "It's nothing. I'm just nervous about the whole superhero thing. Like how we can live-"

"Live up to the legacy our parents created…" I finished her sentence. "Do you maybe want to grab some food or something?"

She looked at me with a puzzled expression. "You want to- you want to get food with me?"

"Um- sure!" I smiled. "We've not done much together, and as the only girls on the Justice Squad, I think it is time we had a girl's night or something. Or we can check in on Fin'abarra?"

"I'd like that… He seemed to be okay when I saw him this morning." Willow looked nervously up and down the corridor, like she thought Ryan was going to come back.

"Listen- I'm going to go and get changed so I'll meet you in five?" I smiled at her politely and then disappeared into the small locker room that I shared with Willow.

It had a row of five high school lockers – admittedly Green Canary and Angel were being optimistic and hoping that more kids like us would join the Justice Squad. For now, it was nice to just be me and Willow for the girl's side.

When I came out, Willow was nowhere to be seen. It was strange, but I couldn't budge the feeling that she was unnecessarily intimidated by Ryan. I waited for what felt like ages and she still didn't appear, so I thought it would be best for me to go and check on Fin'abarra.

On the way to the infirmary, I checked my phone and saw a message from Dad. _Where are you?_ I rolled my eyes and told him I was seeing Fin'abarra. He was incredibly insistent on knowing my nearly every move, which was unbelievably irritating but understandable.

"Relax Dad…" I whispered, walking through the infirmary towards Fin'abarra's room.

He still hadn't recovered from inhaling the toxic gas that had been released in the Jenson's home – Green Canary suspected that it was unfortunately harmful to Atlanteans. It was weird training and debriefing without Fin'abarra there because I had known him for as long as I could remember. Aqualad and my dad were close friends when they were our age, so it was only natural that me and Fin'abarra were friends.

I sat down in the chair beside Fin'abarra's bed. "Finley- can you wake up soon? It's so boring without you, and Ryan is driving us all crazy because you aren't here to kind of keep him in his place…"

My hand rested itself on his arm, just below his blue Atlantean turtle tattoo. The turtle was the animal that he summoned when he used his powers, and it was amazing to watch him control the turtle he created. The constant and stable beeping of the machines that were keeping him healthy was soothing to begin with, but I got frustrated by it quickly.

" _Security breach… Initiate lockdown sequence – security breach. Lockdown sequence initiated."_

"Oh crap…" I groaned, wondering what was going on.

The lockdown sequence was being initiated for a reason and I knew it wasn't going to be good. Someone was either trying to physically break in, or someone was trying to remote hack the system. Maybe the system itself was being hacked. Either way, I was going to need to stay put for the time being.

I pulled out my phone, ducking below the window that looked into the hospital room from the corridor, pulling the cord to close the blinds.

When I tried to phone Dad, the call wouldn't connect, and that's when I heard the next announcement.

" _Unauthorised personnel – lockdown secured. Unauthorised personnel – lockdown secured."_

Someone was inside of the headquarters, and no one was around to help me. How was I going to get out of this?

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = What is Mari going to do now and what is up with Jester? I hope you are enjoying the story and don't forget to leave a review**


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